Karlsruhe: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Karlsruhe is a city of 283,799 people in Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg), 118 m (387 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Karlsruhe Baden-Baden Airport (FKB), 35 km (22 mi) from the centre. It has 2 railway stations on record, including Karlsruhe Central Station.
Key facts
Daylight in Karlsruhe runs from about 8 h 17 min a day in late December to 16 h 16 min in late June (computed for 49.01° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Karlsruhe is served by 5 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Karlsruhe Baden-Baden Airport (FKB), 35 km (22 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,787 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Stuttgart Airport (STR, 70 km), Strasbourg Airport (SXB, 77 km), Mannheim-City Airport (MHG, 52 km), Saarbrücken Airport (SCN, 97 km).
Flights to Karlsruhe: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Karlsruhe Central Station, Karlsruhe Hbf Westgruppe. Trains to Karlsruhe
Buses to Karlsruhe · Driving and car hire
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ettlinger Tor | 9,000,000 | 2009 |
| KIT Library | 3,120,234 | 2015 |
| Baden State Library | 543,248 | 2016 |
The busiest is Ettlinger Tor at 9,000,000 visitors in 2009. At that volume, anything with a gate is worth a timed ticket or an early start.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Karlsruhe
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Munich, 253 km — flights · trains · tours
- Milan, 399 km (Italy) — flights
- Köln, 238 km — tours
- Brussels, 355 km (Belgium)
- Frankfurt am Main, 125 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Düsseldorf, 272 km — tours
- Stuttgart, 62 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Essen, 290 km — tours
- Dortmund, 286 km
- Antwerp, 377 km (Belgium)
Twin towns and sister cities: Nancy, Nottingham, Krasnodar, Timișoara, Halle (Saale), Torfaen, Vinnytsia.
Common questions
Which airport serves Karlsruhe?
Karlsruhe Baden-Baden Airport (FKB), 35 km (22 mi) from the centre, plus 4 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Karlsruhe?
About 283,799 people live in Karlsruhe, across 173 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Karlsruhe in?
Europe/Berlin, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Karlsruhe?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Karlsruhe?
Munich (253 km), Milan (399 km), Köln (238 km), Brussels (355 km), Frankfurt am Main (125 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.